Matt Stonie has turned his love for food into a full-time career and become one of the top-ranked
competitive eaters in the world.
So how did Stonie go from a skinny college kid to a professional eater?
His journey to competitive eating success might surprise you.
When you eat 20 pounds of food in one go, it can take quite a toll on the body, so Stonie
works hard to stay in shape.
Weighing in at a slender 120 pounds is no easy feat, especially when your job requires
you to eat so many calories.
Stonie told GQ that he makes sure to take care of himself so that, in spite of how much
food he eats, he's still staying healthy.
He explained,
"It really just comes down to diet and watching what you're eating after a contest.
But I'm definitely in the gym five times a week doing cardio or weights.
I've made this my full-time job, and I spend a lot of time taking care of myself.
It's hard, it's not like we have superhuman metabolisms."
"I'm doing my cardio, I'm doing my weights, I'm not Superman or anything, you know it's
a pretty normal diet, especially around contest time, I'm cutting back, eating pretty minimal."
Stonie didn't exactly dream of becoming a competitive eater as a kid.
He entered the sport as a broke college student looking for free food and the chance to win
some prizes.
In an interview with Tailgate Fan, he said,
"I started off eating big burgers and pizzas for a free meal and a t-shirt."
In an interview with First We Feast, Stonie admitted that competitive eating is a rather
unusual career choice and not one he had ever imagined for himself.
It all began when he entered a lobster-roll-eating contest close to his home with a $1,000 dollar
prize.
He said,
"I showed up and there was a guy who was expected to win and I beat him by half a lobster roll
and took home $1,000 cash.
[...] After that competition, I thought, 'Hey, it's not so bad.'
I've always been a competitive guy and I got hooked on that competitive high."
Breaking into the world of competitive eating is not easy.
Stonie said that his first few years on the circuit were "miserable."
His body had to adapt to consuming so much food.
In those early years of learning just what his body could and could not handle, Stonie
says that he was bloated and dehydrated.
He's perfected his craft now, though, and can pack away 10,000 calories a day while
prepping for a competition.
Stonie's talents don't end at consuming an insane amount of food.
He is also passionate about music and has played the guitar for most of his life.
He fielded questions from fans on Reddit, and said he truly enjoys performing for people.
He added that once his competitive eating days are behind him, he'd like to continue
to amaze his fans as a professional musician.
Not only has Stonie won several eating competitions, but he's also shattered many world records
along the way.
Some of the records he has broken are astonishing - and a little nauseating.
The average person would become ill trying to accomplish some of these things, but Stonie
isn't your average person.
According to Pacific Citizen, just a few of Stonie's records include:
"Consuming 25 McDonald's Big Macs in 22 minutes, 241 Hooters chicken wings in 10 minutes, [and]
182 slices of bacon in five minutes."
"It's adding up over the past few years, but everything from gyros to Japanese dumplings,
pumpkin pie, Twinkies, you name it."
Stonie is currently on hiatus from school since he's eating full-time, but before he
took a break from his university studies he majored in nutrition.
It's an interesting course of study for someone who pushes their body to its limits, but Stonie
says his nutrition courses helped him figure out how to be a competitive eater and stay
healthy.
Since competitive eating isn't exactly something you can study, it took a lot of trial and
error for him to figure out what worked best for him.
He told The Telegraph,
"What I've learned in my various classes has drastically helped my understanding of the
human body."
Being a competitive eater isn't for everybody, but it is a pretty good gig for those who
really love food.
Stonie has said that he doesn't have a favorite food, telling The Red Bulletin,
"It depends on what contest I'm training for.
When it's more enjoyable, you can eat more.
That's why a lot of pro eaters do a range of contests ー there are a lot of good sponsors
out there with great contest food.
Sometimes it's hard not to enjoy it when you're up on stage, but you've got to focus.
If you enjoy the food, you'll slow down and lose."
Stonie might not have a favorite dish, but he does have a favorite Ben and Jerry's ice
cream flavor: Milk and cookies.
Stonie also gives back to the community, donating some of his earnings to charity.
He told CNN he's "very lucky" to be able to eat professionally, but acknowledged,
"Hunger is a big issue in the United States and around the world."
While some people might think eating for sport is wasteful, Stonie uses his platform to help
the less fortunate.
He explained,
"What we do on the stage is gluttony.
But whether I eat two hot dogs today or 60, it's not going to make a difference anywhere
else.
Major League Eating does a lot for charity.
I've generated a few thousand dollars for charity from my YouTube videos."
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